The controversial moratorium on state artificial intelligence regulation enforcement included in the pending reconciliation bill before Congress — which President Donald Trump has referred to as his “big, beautiful bill” — was struck from legislation early Tuesday morning, following extensive lawmaker and tech advocacy pushback.
In a 99-1 vote, the Senate passed the bipartisan amendment to cut the provision spearheaded by Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. Following unsuccessful negotiations with fellow Republican Senator Ted Cruz from Texas to whittle the decade-long moratorium down to five years, Blackburn, along with Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Susan Collins, R-Maine., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., submitted an amendment to completely strike the moratorium from the reconciliation bill on Monday evening.
“For as long as I’ve been in Congress, I’ve worked alongside federal and state legislators, parents seeking to protect their kids online, and the creative community in Tennessee to fight back against Big Tech’s exploitation by passing legislation to govern the virtual space,” Blackburn said in a statement sent to Nextgov/FCW. “While I appreciate Chairman Cruz’s efforts to find acceptable language that allows states to protect their citizens from the abuses of AI, the current language is not acceptable to those who need these protections the most.”
If the bill had passed with the moratorium language included, states would have risked losing federal funding for new AI infrastructure and broadband access had they enforced legislation regulating AI. In Blackburn’s home state of Tennessee, for example, this could have resulted in a halt in enforcement of laws regarding AI-generated deepfake content and AI’s use in education.
“This 99-1 vote sent a clear message that Congress will not sell out our kids and local communities in order to pad the pockets of Big Tech billionaires,” Markey said in a statement. “I am proud to have partnered with Ranking Member Cantwell and Senator Blackburn on an amendment to strip this dangerous language, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to develop responsible guardrails for AI.”
Congress has also yet to enact much in the way of federal policy regulating the emerging technology.
Policy experts have also consistently criticized the moratorium as undermining state efforts to protect citizens from AI-based harms absent overarching federal law.
“The overwhelming vote to strike the AI moratorium from the budget bill reflects just how unpopular it is among voters and state leaders of both parties,” said Center for Democracy and Technology CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens in a statement. “Americans deserve sensible guardrails as AI develops, and if Congress isn’t prepared to step up to the plate, it shouldn’t prevent states from addressing the challenge. We hope that after such a resounding rebuke, Congressional leaders understand that it’s time for them to start treating AI harms with the seriousness they deserve.”
Supporters of the moratorium, however, aimed to avoid a patchwork of domestic regulation and its adverse impact on the U.S.’s ability to innovate in AI.
In a statement shared with Nextgov/FCW prior to the amendment introduction and passage, Cruz defended the moratorium as helpful to both small businesses and needed to help keep the U.S. at the forefront of the global race to AI dominance.
“[The AI moratorium] preserves the rights of states to protect consumers and content creators without giving the Left a backdoor to push their woke social agenda through AI regulation,” Cruz said.
